Feingold Pushes for Passage of Legislation to Restore Federal Clean Water and Wetland Protection Senator Testifies at Senate Hearing on the Clean Water Act June 10, 2003 Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) today testified at a hearing of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee's Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, and Water. Feingold pressed for passage of the Clean Water Authority Restoration Act, S.473, which he introduced on February 27, 2003. After a January 2001 Supreme Court decision, wetlands lost the protection they were afforded under the Clean Water Act of 1972. This legislation would provide federal protection for isolated wetlands and would restore the original intent of the 1972 act. "Congress needs to re-establish the common understanding of the Clean Water Act's jurisdiction to protect all waters of the U.S." Feingold testified. "Under the current interpretation of the Clean Water Act, waters that the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers judge to be outside the Clean Water Act can be filled, dredged, and polluted without a permit or any other long-standing Clean Water Act safeguard." Feingold's proposed bill would: • Adopt a statutory definition of "waters of the United States" based on the longstanding definition of waters in the Corps of Engineers' regulations • Clarify that Congress's primary concern in 1972 was to protect the nation's waters from pollution, rather than just to sustain the navigability of waterways, and to reinforce that original intent • Include the factual basis for Congress to assert its constitutional authority over waters and wetlands, including those that are called isolated, on all relevant constitutional grounds "The Supreme Court's discussion has resulted in a wide variety of interpretations by federal, state and local officials that jeopardize protection for wetlands and other waters," Feingold stated. "We need to be clear that Congress intends to clear up any lingering ambiguity and protect our waters, rather than lose them." Copies of Senator Feingold's statement are available upon request.

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